Systems and methods for electronic document delivery, execution, and return

ABSTRACT

To expedite electronic delivery and return of a document, the document is sent to an electronic mail system and stored in an electronic form thereat. The recipient is informed that the document is available thereto at any of a plurality of merchants where the document may be retrieved. The recipient visits one of the plurality of merchants and at the visited merchant retrieves the document in the electronic form from the mail system to a computing device at the visited merchant. The recipient then reviews and executes the document at the visited merchant, and sends the executed document in an electronic form to the organization by way of the visited merchant and the computing device thereat.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/199,728, filed Mar. 6, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/653,032, filed Oct. 16, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No.8,708,225, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/329,856, filed Dec. 19, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,286,859, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/194,174, filed onAug. 19, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,083,129. This application is alsorelated in subject matter to, and incorporates herein by reference inits entirety, each of the following: U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/194,185, filed on Aug. 19, 2008; and U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/194,201, filed on Aug. 19, 2008.

FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods that deliverdocuments from an originator to a recipient in an electronic manner,effectuate execution of the documents, and return the executeddocuments. In particular, the present disclosure relates to delivery ofdocuments by way of a document processing merchant that also performsdocument-related services for the recipient and returns the documents onbehalf of the recipient, all in an electronic manner.

BACKGROUND

In a typical scenario, an organization such as a business may wish tosend one or more documents to a recipient in an especiallytime-sensitive manner. For example, the documents may relate to atransaction between the organization and the recipient where time is ofthe essence, where the time frame within which action must be taken isrelatively short, or the like. In any case, the documents must bedelivered to the recipient in an expeditious manner. Accordingly, theorganization may print the documents for the recipient, place thedocuments in an appropriate delivery package, and then deposit thepackaged documents with an expedited delivery carrier that then proceedsto deliver the packaged documents to the recipient in the expeditedmanner.

Typically, the expedited delivery carrier is one of several large andknown carriers that specialize in the expedited delivery of packages,and may in fact have developed a large and sophisticated physical plantto effectuate such expedited delivery. For example, the carrier may bethe FedEx Corporation of Memphis Tenn. or the United Parcel Service(UPS), Inc. of Greenwich Conn., and may have a vast network of sortingfacilities, transferring facilities, pickup vehicles, delivery vehiclesand even aircraft. However, even with such an expedited carrier service,the packaged documents are at best typically delivered into the hand ofthe recipient on an overnight basis. In at least some instances, suchovernight delivery is not fast enough for purposes of the organizationand/or the recipient.

Moreover, even with the use of such an expedited delivery carrier, theorganization still is required to maintain facilities both to print thedocuments and to package same in a form amenable to the carrier.Particularly if the organization has a relatively high volume of suchdocuments that are to be delivered to a multitude of recipients, thecost of such facilities can be quite significant, as can the costcharged by the carrier to deliver all of the packaged documents to allof the recipients thereof.

Notably, even when packaged documents are delivered to a recipient, itis oftentimes the case that the recipient must take action with regardto the delivered documents and then return the documents to theorganization. Usually, such action includes signing the documents, andperhaps even having the signed documents notarized. At any rate, takingsuch action can take precious time, for example if a notary public isnot immediately available to notarize the signed documents, and oncesuch action is taken, returning the documents to the organization cantake even more precious time, even if an expedited delivery carrier isemployed to effectuate such return on an overnight basis.

Of course, in the present electronic age the organization may deliverthe documents electronically to the recipient, perhaps by way ofelectronic mail or electronic facsimile. The recipient may then take atleast some actions with respect to the delivered documents andimmediately return same electronically to the organization, againperhaps by way of electronic mail or electronic facsimile. For example,if signing is required, the recipient may print and sign the documentsand then return the signed documents. However, the recipient may nothave the necessary systems and functionality available thereto toreceive and return the documents electronically. Moreover, and perhapscritically, other actions such as the aforementioned notarizing mayrequire an undesirable delay in the return of the documents, especiallyif a notary public is not immediately available to the recipient.

Accordingly, a need exists for an electronic document delivery systemthat delivers documents from an organization to a recipient and thatreceives the documents as executed or the like from the recipient in anexpedited manner.

SUMMARY

The aforementioned needs are satisfied at least in part by systems andmethods employed to expedite electronic delivery and return of adocument. The document is sent to an electronic mail system to bereceived by a recipient, where the document as sent is stored in anelectronic form. The recipient is informed that the document isavailable thereto at any of a plurality of merchants where the documentmay be retrieved. The recipient visits one of the plurality of merchantsand at the visited merchant retrieves the document in the electronicform from the mail system to a computing device at the visited merchant.The recipient then reviews and executes the document at the visitedmerchant, and sends the executed electronic document to the organizationby way of the visited merchant and the computing device thereat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description ofvarious embodiments of the present innovation, will be better understoodwhen read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose ofillustrating the embodiments, there are shown in the drawingsembodiments which are presently envisioned. As should be understood,however, the embodiments of the present innovation are not limited tothe precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a computing environmentwithin which various embodiments of the present innovation may beimplemented;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic document delivery systemincluding an organization sending a document to a recipient by way of akiosk or the like at a merchant in accordance with various embodimentsof the present innovation; and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing key actions performed in connectionwith the electronic document delivery system of FIG. 2 in accordancewith various embodiments of the present innovation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example Computing Environment

FIG. 1 is set forth herein as an exemplary computing environment inwhich various embodiments of the present innovation may be implemented.The computing system environment is only one example of a suitablecomputing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation asto the scope of use or functionality. Numerous other general purpose orspecial purpose computing system environments or configurations may beused. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use include, but are not limitedto, personal computers (PCs), server computers, handheld or laptopdevices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based systems, networkPCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, embedded systems, distributedcomputing environments that include any of the above systems or devices,and the like.

Computer-executable instructions such as program modules executed by acomputer may be used. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Distributed computing environments may be used where tasks are performedby remote processing devices that are linked through a communicationsnetwork or other data transmission medium. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules and other data may be located in both localand remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.

With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for implementing aspectsdescribed herein includes a computing device, such as computing device100. In its most basic configuration, computing device 100 typicallyincludes at least one processing unit 102 and memory 104. Depending onthe exact configuration and type of computing device, memory 104 may bevolatile (such as random access memory (RAM)), non-volatile (such asread-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.), or some combination of thetwo. This most basic configuration is illustrated in FIG. 1 by dashedline 106. Computing device 100 may have additionalfeatures/functionality. For example, computing device 100 may includeadditional storage (removable and/or non-removable) including, but notlimited to, magnetic or optical disks or tape. Such additional storageis illustrated in FIG. 1 by removable storage 108 and non-removablestorage 110.

Computing device 100 typically includes or is provided with a variety ofcomputer-readable media. Computer-readable media can be any availablemedia that can be accessed by computing device 100 and includes bothvolatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. Byway of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may comprisecomputer storage media and communication media.

Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data. Memory 104, removable storage 108, andnon-removable storage 110 are all examples of computer storage media.Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM,electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to store the desired information and which canaccessed by computing device 100. Any such computer storage media may bepart of computing device 100.

Computing device 100 may also contain communications connection(s) 112that allow the device to communicate with other devices. Each suchcommunications connection 112 is an example of communication media.Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includesany information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared and other wireless media. Theterm computer-readable media as used herein includes both storage mediaand communication media.

Computing device 100 may also have input device(s) 114 such as keyboard,mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc. Outputdevice(s) 116 such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. may also beincluded. All these devices are generally known to the relevant publicand therefore need not be discussed in any detail herein except asprovided.

Notably, computing device 100 may be one of a plurality of computingdevices 100 inter-connected by a network 118, as is shown in FIG. 1. Asmay be appreciated, the network 118 may be any appropriate network, eachcomputing device 100 may be connected thereto by way of a connection 112in any appropriate manner, and each computing device 100 may communicatewith one or more of the other computing devices 100 in the network 118in any appropriate manner. For example, the network 118 may be a wiredor wireless network within an organization or home or the like, and mayinclude a direct or indirect coupling to an external network such as theInternet or the like.

It should be understood that the various techniques described herein maybe implemented in connection with hardware or software or, whereappropriate, with a combination of both. Thus, the methods and apparatusof the presently disclosed subject matter, or certain aspects orportions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., instructions)embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, harddrives, or any other machine-readable storage medium wherein, when theprogram code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as acomputer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the presentlydisclosed subject matter.

In the case of program code execution on programmable computers, thecomputing device generally includes a processor, a storage mediumreadable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memoryand/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least oneoutput device. One or more programs may implement or utilize theprocesses described in connection with the presently disclosed subjectmatter, e.g., through the use of an application-program interface (API),reusable controls, or the like. Such programs may be implemented in ahigh-level procedural or object-oriented programming language tocommunicate with a computer system. However, the program(s) can beimplemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case,the language may be a compiled or interpreted language, and combinedwith hardware implementations.

Although exemplary embodiments may refer to utilizing aspects of thepresently disclosed subject matter in the context of one or morestand-alone computer systems, the subject matter is not so limited, butrather may be implemented in connection with any computing environment,such as a network 118 or a distributed computing environment. Stillfurther, aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter may beimplemented in or across a plurality of processing chips or devices, andstorage may similarly be effected across a plurality of devices in anetwork 118. Such devices might include personal computers, networkservers, and handheld devices, for example.

Electronic Document Delivery System

In various embodiments of the present innovation, and turning now toFIG. 2, an organization 10 such as a business wishes to send a document12 to a recipient 14 in an especially time-sensitive manner. Here, theorganization 10 may be most any organization, although typically theorganization 10 would be a large organization that sends many documents12 to recipients in the especially time-sensitive manner. For example,the organization 10 may be a banking or financial services organizationor an insurance organization, among other things; the recipient 14 maybe a customer of the organization 10, among other things; and thedocument 12 may relate to a transaction being effectuated between theorganization 10 and the recipient 14.

Typically, although by no means necessarily, if the document 12 isespecially time-sensitive, then the transaction between the organization10 and the recipient 14 is of some importance, such as for example atransaction to effectuate a mortgage or other loan, a transaction toeffectuate a life insurance policy or other insurance policy, atransaction to open a banking account or other account, etc.Correspondingly, based on the importance of the transaction, thedocument 12 as sent to the recipient 14 is to be signed and perhaps evennotarized, and the signed and notarized document 12 is to be returned tothe organization 10 for further processing. As should be understood,such notarizing typically involves a notary public 18 or the likewitnessing the document 12 being signed or ‘executed’ by the recipient14 and/or verifying the identity of the recipient 14, and then thenotary public 18 in turn executing a statement on the document 10 tothat effect, although the notarizing may take other forms.

In various embodiments of the present innovation, the organization 10does not print the document 12 for the recipient 14 and ship the printeddocument 12 to the recipient 14 by way of an expedited delivery carrierin the manner that was set forth above. Instead, the organization 10delivers the document 12 electronically to the recipient 14 by way of adocument processing merchant 16 that is relatively local to therecipient 14 and that has sufficient facilities to electronicallyreceive the document 12 from the organization 10, print the receiveddocument 12 for the recipient 14, effectuate all necessary actions withrespect to the document 12 by the recipient 14, and thereafterelectronically return the document 12 to the organization 10.

As may be appreciated, to receive and return the document 12, themerchant 16 typically may employ an electronic mail system 20 thatreceives and transmits electronic mail from and to the organization 10among other places. As set forth below, the mail system 20 may includeadditional features specific to delivery of the document 12 from theorganization 10 of the recipient 14. As may also be appreciated, thenecessary actions effectuated by the merchant 16 with respect to thedocument 12 may be most any appropriate actions, although such actionstypically include allowing the recipient 14 to review and sign orexecute the document 12, and perhaps providing a notary public 18 tonotarize the signed or executed document 12. Thus, the merchant 16 isexpected to have such a notary public 18 on staff or at least readilyavailable.

In order that the document processing merchant 16 can be relativelylocal to the recipient 14, and bearing in mind that the recipient 14 mayconceivably be located most anywhere, the merchant 16 may be a branch orthe like of a document processing business 22 or the like that hassufficient numbers of such branches/merchants 16, at least in most majormetropolitan areas. For example, the document processing business 22 maybe a business such as FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Centers (‘FedExOffice’), which is a subsidiary of the aforementioned FedEx Corporation,or The UPS Store or Mail Boxes, Etc. store, both of which aresubsidiaries of the aforementioned United Parcel Service, Inc. Moreover,by employing such businesses 22, the organization 10 may leverageexisting relationships with the related expedited delivery carriers.

In various embodiments of the present innovation, and turning now toFIG. 3, it is seen that the organization 10 and the recipient 14 enterinto a transaction in which it is necessary that the organization 10sends a document 12 to the recipient 14 in an especially time-sensitiveand/or expeditious manner. Accordingly, the organization 10 creates thedocument 12 in an appropriate electronic form and sends the document 12in the electronic form to the electronic mail system 20 of the documentprocessing business 22 by way of an inter-network connectiontherebetween such as the Internet (301). The electronic form may be as aregular email message with the document 12, or may be another form, andthe another form may be specific to the mail system 20. Sending suchdocument 12 to the mail system 20 and storing same thereat is known orshould be apparent to the relevant public and therefore need not be setforth herein in any detail other that which is provided.

As should be understood, the mail system 20 is under the auspices of thebusiness 22 and not any particular merchant 16 that is a branch of thebusiness 22 so that the recipient 14 need not specify delivery of thedocument 12 to any particular branch/merchant 16. Instead, the recipient14 is informed by the organization 10 that the document 12 is awaitingthe recipient 14 and may be printed out at any branch/merchant 16 of thebusiness 22 (303). Thus, the mail system 20 is akin to and in fact mayinclude a spooler at which documents 12 are spooled and may be retrievedat any branch/merchant 16 of the business 22.

Note that each document 12 may contain confidential information, or atleast information that should not be revealed publicly. Accordingly, toretrieve the document 12 from the mail system 20, and to provide somedegree of confidentiality, the recipient is supplied by the organization10 with a retrieval code that must be entered at the branch/merchant 16to identify the document 12 and release same from the mail system 20(305). Such retrieval code may be supplied by the organization 10 to therecipient 14 in any appropriate form, such as for example orally duringa telephone conversation or by electronic mail, and at any appropriatetime such as for example when the recipient 14 is notified that thedocument 12 is to be delivered thereto.

As should be understood, the retrieval code as supplied by theorganization 10 to the recipient 14 as at 305 should also be supplied bythe organization 10 to the mail system 20 when sending the document 12in the electronic form to such mail system 20 as at 301. Accordingly,the mail system 20 can associate the retrieval code with the sentdocument 12, perhaps in a database or the like associated with such mailsystem 20, such that the retrieval code can be employed to retrieve thedocument 12 thereat. Note that the retrieval code may also be employedto encrypt and decrypt the document 12 at the mail system 20 if desired,or that such encrypting and decrypting may be performed in anothermanner if desired.

Thus, the recipient 14 with the retrieval code visits a localbranch/merchant 16 of the business 22, and at such merchant 16 providesthe retrieval code to retrieve the document 12 in the electronic formfrom the mail system 20 (307). Note here that the recipient 14 maysupply the retrieval code to a clerk or the like at the merchant 16 andthe clerk may then communicate the retrieval code to the mail system 20of the business 22 by way of an appropriately networked computing device24 at the merchant 16. Alternately, the recipient 14 may enter theretrieval code into the computing device 24 himself or herself, perhapsat a self-service kiosk 26 or the like at the merchant 16 dedicated tothat function.

Upon receiving the retrieval code, the mail system 20 delivers thedocument 12 for the recipient 14 to such recipient 14 at the localmerchant 16 (309). Delivering such document 12 from the mail system 20to the local merchant 16 is known or should be apparent to the relevantpublic and therefore need not be set forth herein in any detail otherthat which is provided. Thus, the recipient 14 or clerk may print thedelivered document 12 at the merchant 16 to review same, or therecipient 14 may review the document 12 in an electronic form,particularly if the recipient 14 is employing the computing device 24 ata kiosk 26.

As was set forth above, the recipient 14 may be expected to sign/executethe delivered document 12 and return same to the organization 10 (310).In addition, the executed document 12 may require notarization by anotary public 18 (311). If so, the delivered document 12 may be printedat a printer or the like at the kiosk 26 with the computing device 24,so that the recipient 14 can in fact sign/execute same and perhaps havethe executed document 12 notarized by a notary public 18. Alternately,if feasible and permissible, the recipient can electronicallysign/execute the delivered document 12 and perhaps have the executeddocument 12 notarized by a notary public 18.

As may be appreciated, such electronic signing/executing and notarizingmay take any appropriate form. For example, the signing/executing andnotarizing may be performed with a mouse or with an electronic stylusand tablet at the kiosk 26 at the merchant 16, and/or may involve theelectronic presentation of one or more digital certificates and theperformance of one or more digital signatures over the delivereddocument 12 based on cryptographic keys associated with the digitalcertificates. In any case, it is advisable that if a notary public 18 isrequired to notarize a document 12 at the merchant 16, such merchant 16should have a notary public 18 on staff and readily available, or atleast readily available.

Thereafter, the signed or signed and notarized document 12 is returnedby the recipient 14 to the organization 10 in an electronic form by wayof the merchant 16 (313). In particular, if printed out and signed, thedocument 12 may be scanned back into the electronic form at a scanner orthe like at the kiosk 26 with the computing device 24, and the scanneddocument 12 in the electronic form is then appropriately transmittedfrom such computing device 24 either directly back to the organization10 or indirectly back to the organization 10 by way of the mail system20 of the business 22. In either case, such transmitting is known orshould be apparent to the relevant public and therefore need not be setforth herein in any detail other than that which is provided.Alternately, if signed in the electronic form, scanning is not requiredand instead the signed document 12 in the electronic form is thenappropriately transmitted from such computing device 24 either directlyback to the organization 10 or indirectly back to the organization 10 byway of the mail system 20 of the business 22. In either case, theorganization 10 may then employ the signed or signed and notarizeddocument 12 as necessary and/or appropriate (315).

Note here that the merchant 16 and/or the business 22 rightly shouldexpect some payment for the services provided thereby to the recipient14, including receiving the document 12 from the organization 10,printing the document 12, notarizing the document 12, scanning thedocument 12, returning the document 12 to the organization 10, and/orthe like as may variously be performed. Such payment may be made by theorganization 10 or the recipient 14, as should be understood. In eithercase, inasmuch as the organization 10 may expect to deliver a largenumber of documents 12 to recipients 14 by way of the branches/merchants16 of the business 22, the organization 10 should be able to negotiate afavorable payment rate with the merchants 16/business 22 for doing so,where the payment rate covers all necessary services in connection withthe actions of FIG. 3.

In various embodiments of the present innovation, each kiosk 26 at amerchant 16 is organized to effectuate the actions of FIG. 3 in agenerally smooth and simple manner, at least as experienced by arecipient 14 employing such kiosk 26. Accordingly, the computing device24 at the kiosk 26 should employ an interface that easily guides therecipient through the use of such kiosk 26, including entering theretrieval code, reviewing the retrieved document 12 in electronic form,printing and scanning the document 12 as may be performed,signing/executing the document 12 in electronic or paper form,notarizing the document 12 in electronic or paper form, and returningthe document 12 to the organization, among other things. Such aninterface is known or should be apparent to the relevant public andtherefore need not be set forth herein in any detail. Accordingly, anyappropriate interface may be employed.

Note too that the use of a kiosk 26 having a computing device 24 at eachof several branches/merchants 16 of a business 22 may require asignificant investment of capital to install and maintain all of suchkiosks 26, especially if the number of branches/merchants 16 of thebusiness 22 is on the order of hundreds or thousands. While theorganization 10 might be expected to contribute such capital, thebusiness 22 may discover that the capital for such kiosks 26 can bederived solely from payments made in connection with the use thereofwhile still leaving a significant profit. Moreover, the business 22 maydiscover that by hosting such kiosks 26 in the branches/merchants 16thereof, significant numbers of people may visit the merchants 16 thatwould not otherwise do so, and such significant numbers of people may inthe course of such visits purchase additional products and services ofthe merchants 16 that have significant value. Accordingly, such kiosks26 may be treated as loss leaders or the like if found to lead toadditional purchases at the merchants 16.

In various embodiments of the present innovation, the computing device25 at the kiosk 26 employs a returning program 28 to return the document12 in the electronic form to the organization 10. As should beunderstood, such a returning program 28 may be accessed directly or maybe accessed indirectly, for example as a pseudo-printer driver that doesnot actually print the returning document 12 but instead appropriatelyformats and sends the returning document 12 in the electronic form tothe organization 10. In any case, the use of the returning programensures that the returning document 12 is sent to the correct location,such as for example a central delivery address at the organization 10,perhaps by having such location encoded therein or by having encodedtherein a pointer to the correct location.

Also, the use of the returning program 28 allows the returning document12 to be marked with information that will allow the returned document12 to be routed to the correct location within the organization 10,especially if such information is not already present in the document12. For example, the returning program 28 may be required to query therecipient for a name and identification number thereof and perhaps anappropriate contact within the organization, all of which is placed onthe returning document 12 in an appropriate manner, perhaps as awatermark or as printing in a margin, or even as a cover sheet appendedto the document 12. Additionally, the use of the returning program 28allows for encrypting the returning document 12 if need be, and/orsending the returning document 12 according to a particular securedelivery mechanism.

CONCLUSION

The programming believed necessary to effectuate the processes performedin connection with the various embodiments of the present innovation isrelatively straight-forward and should be apparent to the relevantprogramming public. Accordingly, such programming is not attachedhereto. Any particular programming, then, may be employed to effectuatethe various embodiments of the present innovation without departing fromthe spirit and scope thereof.

In the present innovation, systems and methods provide an electronicdocument delivery system that delivers documents 12 from an organization10 to a recipient 14 and that receives the documents 12 as executed orthe like from the recipient in an expeditious manner, especially wherean action that must be taken with respect to the document 12 cannot beperformed by the recipient 14, such as notarizing. The electronicdelivery system delivers the document 12 to a document processingmerchant 16 or the like who can print the document 12, perform theaction that cannot be taken by the recipient 14, and then return thedocument 12 to the organization 10 on behalf of the recipient 14.

Such an electronic delivery system minimizes the need for an expediteddelivery carrier to deliver the document 12 to the recipient 14 andback, and also minimizes the facilities that the organization 10 mustmaintain both to print the documents and to package same in a formamenable to the carrier. Particularly if the organization 10 has arelatively high volume of such documents 12 that are to be delivered toa multitude of recipients 14, the savings from the electronic deliverysystem can be quite significant, as can the savings from the costscharged by the carrier to deliver all of such packaged documents to allof the recipients thereof.

With a kiosk 26 at a merchant 16 that effectuates all actions withrespect to a document 12 electronically delivered to a recipient 14thereat, such actions are performed quickly and efficiently, perhaps inas little as a few minutes, and the document 12 is then quickly returnedto the organization 10 in an electronic form. Especially when a document12 delivered to a recipient 14 requires special action that therecipient cannot take, such as notarizing, the kiosk 26 and the merchant16 can establish mechanisms for effectuating such a special action, suchas for example ensuring that a notary public 18 is readily available.Such a kiosk 26 is also particularly useful to a recipient 14 that doesnot have the necessary systems and functionality available thereto toreceive and return the document 12 electronically.

It should be appreciated that changes could be made to the embodimentsdescribed above without departing from the innovative concepts thereof.For example, although the present innovation is set forth primarily interms of a mail system 20 at the business 22, such mail system 20 may beestablished instead directly at a merchant 16, or even within theorganization 10. Likewise, although the present innovation is set forthprimarily in terms of the merchant 16 being a document processingmerchant, such merchant 16 may instead be an individual, such as forexample a notary public 18 or a paralegal or attorney. It should beunderstood, therefore, that this innovation is not limited to theparticular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to covermodifications within the spirit and scope of the present innovation asdefined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: sending an electronicdocument and routing information associated with a receiving device to aplurality of computing devices associated with an electronic mailsystem, the electronic document having an intended recipient, theelectronic mail system being associated with a plurality of merchantlocations at which the plurality of computing devices are located;informing the intended recipient that the electronic document isavailable for retrieval and execution at the plurality of merchantlocations; and receiving, by the receiving device, an executed versionof the electronic document from at least one of the plurality ofcomputing devices located at a selected location of the plurality ofmerchant locations, wherein the intended recipient visited the selectedlocation.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic mail systemis operated by a document processing business, and the plurality ofmerchant locations comprises branches of the document processingbusiness.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: supplying aretrieval code to the intended recipient for the electronic document. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic mail system comprises aself-service kiosk at one of the plurality of merchant locations.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the executed version comprises anotarization, wherein the notarization is affixed by a notary publicassociated with the selected location.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising paying the selected location according to a predeterminedarrangement.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the executed versioncomprises a marking indicative of how to route the executed version toan intended return recipient of the executed version, the marking addedto the executed version by a returning program.
 8. A nontransitorycomputer-readable storage medium having executable instructions thatcause a processor executing the executable instructions to effectuateoperations, the operations comprising: sending an electronic documentand routing information associated with a receiving device to aplurality of computing devices associated with an electronic mailsystem, the electronic document having an intended recipient, theelectronic mail system being associated with a plurality of merchantlocations at which the plurality of computing devices are located;informing the intended recipient that the electronic document isavailable for retrieval and execution at the plurality of merchantlocations; and receiving an executed version of the electronic documentcomprising an indication of the routing information from at least one ofthe plurality of computing devices located at a selected location of theplurality of merchant locations, wherein the intended recipient visitedthe selected location.
 9. The nontransitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 8, wherein the electronic mail system is operated by adocument processing business, and the plurality of merchant locationscomprises branches of the document processing business.
 10. Thenontransitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, theoperations further comprising: supplying a retrieval code to theintended recipient for the electronic document, wherein the receivedexecuted version is encrypted with the retrieval code; and decryptingthe received executed version.
 11. The nontransitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 8, wherein the electronic mail system comprisesa self-service kiosk at one of the plurality of merchant locations. 12.The nontransitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, whereinthe executed version comprises a notarization, wherein the notarizationis affixed by a notary public associated with the selected location. 13.The nontransitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, theoperations further comprising paying selected location according to apredetermined arrangement.
 14. The nontransitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 8, wherein the executed version comprises amarking indicative of how to return the executed version to a sender ofthe electronic document, the marking added to the executed version by areturning program.
 15. A receiving device comprising: a processor; andmemory storing instructions that cause the processor to effectuateoperations comprising: sending an electronic document and routinginformation associated with a receiving device to a plurality ofcomputing devices associated with an electronic mail system, theelectronic document having an intended recipient, the electronic mailsystem being associated with a plurality of merchant locations at whichthe plurality of computing devices are located; informing the intendedrecipient that the electronic document is available for retrieval andexecution at the plurality of merchant locations; and receiving anexecuted version of the electronic document from at least one of theplurality of computing devices located at a selected location of theplurality of merchant locations, wherein the intended recipient visitedthe selected location.
 16. The receiving device of claim 15, wherein theelectronic mail system is operated by a document processing business,and the plurality of merchant locations comprises branches of thedocument processing business.
 17. The receiving device of claim 15, theoperations further comprising: supplying a retrieval code to theintended recipient for the electronic document, wherein the receivedexecuted version is encrypted with the retrieval code.
 18. The receivingdevice of claim 15, wherein the electronic mail system comprises aself-service kiosk at one of the plurality of merchant locations. 19.The receiving device of claim 15, wherein the executed version comprisesa notarization, wherein the notarization is affixed by a notary publicassociated with the selected location.
 20. The receiving device of claim15, the operations further comprise paying the selected locationaccording to a predetermined arrangement.